The Servant Queen

penelope carlevato | penelopecarlevato.com

In the summer of 1952, our family spent three glorious months in England. My grandfather passed away in April, but we would not arrive in time for the funeral. It was also the same year the King of England died, and Queen Elizabeth II was the new queen. There was much excitement all over England, and we had high hopes of getting a glimpse of the queen.

Her coronation was not until the following June, but many businesses and homes displayed flags and announcements of the upcoming coronation.

Last month ended the 70-year reign of Queen Elizabeth II. Millions viewed the funeral, and most never knew another monarch. Her loss is great; even though we all knew she would pass away one day, our hearts and minds were not ready.

I have admired the queen all my life, and since my mother and I are British citizens, we greatly respect the royal family. My mum collected books, photos, newspaper articles, commemorative teacups, and mugs for many years. I have continued with those collections and purchased many other books and magazines about Her Majesty and the royal family.

I saw the queen numerous times during trips to England. Unfortunately, I did not have the pleasure of meeting her in person. It is always a heart desire of most Brits to see the queen.

During our summer vacation in 1952, we did have the privilege of meeting the queen’s grandmother, Queen Mary.

Our family was visiting one of the royal residences, Sandringham, which was very close to my grandparent’s summer home at the beach at Heachem. While we were visiting Sandringham, Queen Mary came to inspect one of the royal businesses on the grounds—a carpentry shop. The manager told us that the queen was coming later that day and that we might get to see her if we were in the shop a little before noon.

Meeting the queen was a dream come true for my mother. We quickly changed into our finest clothing—the ones we wore for the Captain’s Dinner on the ocean liner that brought us to England.

My mother instructed my brother and me to curtsey and bow correctly and only speak to the queen if she spoke to us first. After changing, we dashed back to the carpentry shop and were allowed to stay while the shop was closed to the public. We “hid out” in the back of the shop.

About a half hour later, the queen arrived in her 1935 Daimler and parked in front of the shop’s main entrance. She was dressed in white from the top of her head to her shoes, spectacular and regal. Although only 5’7”, she appeared taller as her heels and hat added to her height. After a few words, the manager ushered the queen into the shop and guided her to our family. My mother’s heart probably did a few flip-flops!

The queen was friendly and chatted away like she and my mum were old friends. She was curious about America and wanted to know if South Dakota was near New York City! It was a very casual conversation about her son, King Edward VIII, who had abdicated the throne in 1936, and his wife, Wallis Simpson. They lived in New York City, and although she had not visited them, she thought it lovely that we were not far from them. She asked my mother about living in America, what part of England she was from, and what she missed most about Britain. The queen visited with us for about 15 minutes, and then at my mother’s request, she walked outside so my mum could take her picture.

After that amazing experience, whenever I saw Queen Elizabeth, I wanted to shout out to her, “I met your Granny and talked to her, and my mum took her picture!” However, as wonderful as that time was, it will pale in comparison when we come face-to-face with Jesus, the King of Kings.

Six years ago, while I was visiting England, the book The Servant Queen and the King She Serves was published by the Bible Society, HOPE, and the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity for the Queen’s 90th birthday. The Queen wrote the foreword for the book with the agreement that the book must be given for free to share the gospel of Jesus Christ, never for resale.

I have enjoyed reading it many times since and savor the focus of the queen’s own words to draw on her trust in Jesus Christ. In her Christmas broadcasts, the Queen always shared the message of Christ as her source of inspiration in good times and tough times.

As I watched her funeral procession, I was reminded of the truth that the ground is level at the foot of the cross. Only those with faith in Christ. Kings and queens of the Earth, princes, generals, the rich, the mighty, and everyone else— both slave and free—must have a personal faith in Jesus Christ to enter heaven (Revelation 6:15–17).”

Chocolate Biscuit Cake

Queen Elizabeth’s favorite dessert was this delicious chocolate biscuit cake. Her personal chef of ten years, Darren McGrady, reported this cake was probably the only one requested in the royal dining room many times. It was so popular that Prince William also chose it as his groom’s cake at his wedding to Kate Middleton. The chocolate biscuit cake was served many times when he had tea with his grandmother, the Queen.

It’s not really a cake, as there is no baking involved. It’s super easy with only four ingredients: tea biscuits, butter, sugar, and dark chocolate. It also goes by another name—tiffin, a Scottish dessert.

To remember the Queen, I made this cake and shared it with friends with a cup of tea as we celebrated the Queen’s life and joined millions of others while watching her last royal procession

Cake: 8 ounces of tea biscuits (such as McVities Digestive Biscuits found in specialty stores or World Market. In a pinch, you can use graham crackers.)

½ cup butter, softened½ cup sugar

4 ounces of dark chocolate, melted (Trader Joe’s Chocolate Bars are great in this recipe.)

Icing:8 ounces of dark chocolate (for coating the top and sides)Grease a round cake pan with butter.

• Break each of the biscuits into pieces about the size of almonds.

• Using an electric mixer, in a large bowl beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

• Melt the chocolate in a microwave until just a few pieces are still solid, then add to the butter mixture and stir until smooth. (The original British recipe calls for beating in a raw egg at this point, but our eggs are not OK to eat raw.)

• Fold in the biscuit pieces until each piece is coated with the chocolate mixture.

• Place the chocolate mixture into the cake pan, pat down and smooth until all the air gaps are gone and the cake is evenly spread into the pan.

• Chill the cake in the refrigerator for at least 3–4 hours.

• Remove the pan from the refrigerator, and let it sit for about 15 minutes.

• Run a sharp knife around the inside of the tin to gently loosen the cake.

• Turn the cake upside down onto a cooling rack placed over a parchment- or wax-paper cookie sheet.

• Melt the chocolate for the icing in the microwave. Pour the melted chocolate slowly over the top of the cake and let it drip down over the side, then smooth it with a knife to cover evenly.

Decorate the top of the cake with shaved pieces of chocolate or drizzle melted chocolate over the top.